New emergency department boosts patients and staff
Faster treatment, more modern emergency care and isolation rooms to strengthen infection control are features of Nelson Hospital’s expanded emergency department.
The department’s new wing, the centrepiece of the expansion project, was opened by Health Minister Simeon Brown on Monday.
Its first patients were due to be in residence on Monday night.
The hospital’s emergency department shortcomings were among issues cited earlier this year as staff spoke out about poor conditions and understaffing.
Nurses said ED patients faced long waits in corridors, and were missing out on timely medication and basic hygiene and mobility needs because of a lack of staff and “bed block” – where the hospital had no inpatient beds available to admit patients from the ED, which in turn stopped the department from taking more patients.
Brown said the new wing would would increase ED treatment spaces from 23 to 29, meaning patients would be seen more quickly, and staff would have a safer, better-equipped environment.
The $10.6million expansion project started in October last year and is due to be completed in April next year, with the addition of spaces for mental health patients and upgraded whānau and waiting areas.
The new wing would provide more clinical space to treat patients, including four new observation bays and one observation room, two new isolation rooms, a dedicated triage room and expanded medication area and improved staff facilities including write-up spaces, bathrooms, and utility rooms.
“The layout supports faster treatment and improved safety, while new isolation facilities and a state-of-the-art negative pressure pod significantly strengthen infection control,” the minister said.
“These upgrades will make a real difference for patients and support our frontline teams to reduce wait times and deliver timely, quality care.”
Te Whatu Ora Nelson Marlborough interim director of operations Jo Gibbs said the opening of the new wing was an exciting time for the hospital team who knew what a difference it would make for patients.
“For the community it’s a positive sign that we are really beginning to deliver some massive improvements to the environment.”
Brown said for too long, Nelson had outdated facilities and too few beds.
Enabling works were well under way on the hospital’s full redevelopment, which includes a new inpatient building with 128 beds, including an acute assessment unit, transit lounge, pharmacy, blood bank, and rehabilitation areas. That building is due for completion in 2029.
The minister confirmed on Sunday that Nelson would be one of five hospitals to receive a new temporary inpatient ward under the Government’s rapid-build hospital capacity programme.
The 28-bed ward would allow services to move while seismic strengthening work was carried out in the hospital redevelopment and would provide extra beds to improve patient flow until the new inpatient tower is built.
Brown had announced the temporary ward in May, and said at the time it would be delivered within 12 months. The minister confirmed on Monday that was still the timeframe and that Nelson would be the first one in operation.
rown said the temporary ward would be built in Nelson off-site, creating work for local contractors.
Asked whether the hospital staffing would be adequate to operate the new facilities, he said that the inpatient ward would have 70 additional staff. Ten registered medical officers (junior doctors) would start work in January, and he was confident other recruitment would make sure the new spaces, including the new ED wing, were fully utilised.
Nelson mayor Nick Smith said it was a red letter day for the city and health staff at the hospital.
“There’s been quite a lot of angst in the community where development proposals for our aged hospital have not gone through to delivery, and today is just so important in improving the confidence that Health New Zealand and the government are actually delivering the facilities that will improve the standard of care.”
Caption: Minister of Health Simeon Brown inspects one of the observation rooms in the new wing of Nelson Hospital’s expanded emergency department with Health New Zealand Te Whatu Ora Nelson Marlborough interim group director of operations Jo Gibbs.BRADEN FASTIER / NELSON MAIL
By Warren Gamble, Nelson Mail
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